.....My current 3.2 Elite at £32K has gone up for a smaller engine though!

IIRC the Senators were the best part of £30k all those years ago, which suggests that cars are easier/cheaper to buy now than they ever were.

Yes indeed Andy although in those days my company bought my big cars

Just checked on the Mercedes options after all the talk about them. Surprised to find the EE 220 d 4MATIC SE Saloon at atotal price of £38,745, and I rather like the average 41 mpg quoted. Interesting comparison with the Insignia I featured

IF I was considering buying an Insignia, after trading in my Omega, it would have to be this one at the £40K price shown:

I like nothing but the best (that I can afford!) , so do you think I could get this for cost +£1?

I bet not!!

Maybe not, but they can't sell many - they don't sell many Insignias, let alone the expensive ones - so you ought to be able to haggle a bloody good deal. I'd be buying a Volvo S90 for that sort of money.

IF I was considering buying an Insignia, after trading in my Omega, it would have to be this one at the £40K price shown:

I like nothing but the best (that I can afford!) , so do you think I could get this for cost +£1?

I bet not!!

Maybe not, but they can't sell many - they don't sell many Insignias, let alone the expensive ones - so you ought to be able to haggle a bloody good deal. I'd be buying a Volvo S90 for that sort of money.

Maybe not, but they can't sell many - they don't sell many Insignias, let alone the expensive ones - so you ought to be able to haggle a bloody good deal. I'd be buying a Volvo S90 for that sort of money.

.....Just checked on the Mercedes options after all the talk about them. Surprised to find the EE 220 d 4MATIC SE Saloon at atotal price of £38,745, and I rather like the average 41 mpg quoted. Interesting comparison with the Insignia I featured

That's the thing with Mercs, the headline price looks appealing, but by the time you've added the nice to have option that Ford/Vauxhall/etc add as standard, they become very expensive. But at least the Merc will be rear wheel drive. But does anyone actually buy a Merc nowadays, Merc 'sell' all their cars on lease deals that's why the roads are full of cars with a 3 point star on them.

They have no appeal to me. I've never found the seating position of any Merc I've tried over the last 30 years to be comfortable, they look horrible, unless you spend a stupid amount of money the trim looks and feels cheap, they were the new cars we did the most warranty pickups for, the dealers' attitude stinks, VFM is bad, etc etc

They have no appeal to me. I've never found the seating position of any Merc I've tried over the last 30 years to be comfortable, they look horrible, unless you spend a stupid amount of money the trim looks and feels cheap, they were the new cars we did the most warranty pickups for, the dealers' attitude stinks, VFM is bad, etc etc

Agree re the Artico 'leather' .... it split on the driver's seat on my R Class. I've only ever dealt with the parts dept of any Merc dealership

At cost is typically a 15-18% discount over retail and the basic flat fee to the dealer is generally included in that. The £1 bit is the profit over and above the basic wholesale price.

There money on these cars is on things like the finance and accessories, not to mention people through the door who are attracted by the headline prices but then actually end up buying the cars not in the promotions. On finance...

Yes......dealers primarily sell finance and overpriced add-ons on rather than the cars themselves. When I tell them I don't want or need finance they always try and push it.

They have no appeal to me. I've never found the seating position of any Merc I've tried over the last 30 years to be comfortable, they look horrible, unless you spend a stupid amount of money the trim looks and feels cheap, they were the new cars we did the most warranty pickups for, the dealers' attitude stinks, VFM is bad, etc etc

Agree re the Artico 'leather' .... it split on the driver's seat on my R Class. I've only ever dealt with the parts dept of any Merc dealership